BEIJING: As the world celebrated International Day for Biological Diversity on Wednesday, Huang Runqiu, China’s minister of ecology and environment, called on developed countries to follow through on their commitments to provide enhanced support for biodiversity conservation efforts in developing nations.
He made the remarks at an event held to mark the occasion co-hosted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the government of Hainan in Sanya, a coastal city in the island province.
Addressing the event, themed “Be Part of the Plan”, Huang, who is also COP15 president, reiterated China’s enduring commitment to contributing to global biodiversity governance by actively deepening international cooperation.
Officially known as the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, COP15 was held in two phases, with phase one taking place virtually in October 2021 in Kunming, Yunnan province, and phase two hosted in Montreal, Canada, in late 2022.
China’s consistent endeavors in biodiversity conservation have brought fruitful results, Huang noted, citing the significant increase of the Yangtze finless porpoise population and the expansion of mangrove forests as examples.
The number of Yangtze finless porpoises increased to 1,249 in 2022, up 29.4 percent from 2017, he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
